American President John Quincy Adams once said, "Patience and
perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear
and obstacles vanish." Have you ever witnessed the magical effect of
patience and perseverance?
One North Carolina church wanted to purchase some property. The church
regularly suffered from high tide flooding. But when the church was
built over a hundred years ago, they couldn't afford better property.
As the story is told, they finally decided to relocate to higher
ground. An ideal lot was empty -- actually the highest ground in town.
It belonged to a man named Sam. Officials from the church went to see
Sam about selling the property. He politely told them it wasn't for
sale; that he had other plans for the land.
The church looked elsewhere, but nothing satisfactory could be found.
So they went back to Sam and made another offer. Again they were
refused.
Then an unusual thing happened. One of the worst coastal floods in
memory struck the town. As water rose, the church began to float. It
left its coastal lot and started inward. It floated down the main
street, turned a corner and eventually landed right on Sam's empty
property.
Sam gave in. He allowed the building to stay and, if you were to ask a
former member of North Carolina's old Swanquarter Methodist Church how
they came to acquire their land, they may relate what Sam said about
the transaction: "I guess if the good Lord couldn't move me to give
the land to the church, he would move the church to the land."
Even John Quincy Adams might have been amazed at the "magical effect"
before which the church's obstacles disappeared.
I believe it was basketball great Michael Jordan who said, "If you run
into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb
it, go through it, or work your way around it."
It's about patience and perseverance. (And it can't hurt to have a
little faith.)
From Lifesupport
Lifesigns Life Quotes
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